Process of and apparatus for feeding cars into and through tunnel-furnaces.



1 A. H. GOWLBS. PROCESS OF AND APPARATUS FOR FEEDING CABS INTO AND THROUGH-TUNNEL FURNACES. APPLICATION FILED an 12, 1911. nnnnwnng'nn. 12, 1013.

1 ,'O73,21 9. Patented Sept. 16, 1913.

2 SHEETH-SHEET 1.

IWITNESSES' "mm/ 7012.

A. H. GOWLES.

PROCESS OF AND APPARATUS FOR FEEDING (JARS IHTO Am) THROUGH TUNNEL FURNACES.

ABPLIOATION FILED MAY 12, 1911. RENEWED IISB. 12, 1913.

Pmnted Sept 16, 1913.

2 BHEBTB-BEEET 2.

WITNESSES.

M Md

A TTORNEY.

' the Groendal type, such as are shown in and through furnaces.

' method is subject to various defects, among of temperature.

ALFRED r1. oownns, or sswannn, new as RSEY, ASSIGNOR TO THE ELECTRIC SHELT- ING AND ALUMINUM COMPANY, O SEWAREN, NEW ER EY- rnocnss or AND arranarvs roe-assume cans mro AND rescues runnnn nauseous.

1911, Serial No. 626,856. Renewed February 12,

To all whom it may concern;

Be it known that I, ALFRED H. Cownns, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Sewaren, in the county of Middlesex and State of New Jersey, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in the Process of and Apparatus for Feeding "Jars Into and Through Tunnel-Furnaces, of which the followin is a specification.

My invention refates to tunnel furnaces.

It relates further to tunnel furnaces of Patent No. 876,712, l- January 14, 1908.

This present application is a division of my app ication Ser. No. 614,876, filed Mar. 16, 1911.

It relates particularly to improved ways and means for feeding cars carrying briquets, or other material to be treated, into It relates further to a method by which the speed of feedin the car through the furnace is controlled according to the heat desired in the furnace, thereby preventing under or over heating and insuring economy.

The object of the invention is to provide a more economical, efiicient and easily Inanipulated means for feeding the material gradually and uniformly into and through such furnaces.

Hitherto the method of procedure has been to-introduce a car carrying the material all at once, and causing a quick forward motion of the train of cars in the furnace, to make room for the new load. This which may be mentioned jolts, by the cars being moved quickly of hitting against each other, and displacing some of the load. Furthermore, a load when inserted bodily by one quick operation into the furnace, remains for a very considerable time exposed to the. temperature of that ortion of the furnace near the entrance, tie other loads under treatment remaining stationary and subject to the temperature ruling those portions of the furnace in which they stopped. This does not tend to the most uniform treatment ofthe loads, which is attained lo keeping the cars moving c nstantl and umformly through the furnace, an bringing the loads successively into the varying zones {specification er in... Patent;

line b-b, of Fig. 2; Fig. 5 is an eicvati'o Patented Sept. 16, 159L512 and this application filed may 12, 1913. Serial No. 748,016.

614,876. Divided To carryout my invention I have inventwhich illustrate one ofthe means by which 'my said invention may he plied.

In the drawings :+-Figure- 1 is an. clevation ofa Groendal' tunnel, or channel tornace; Fig. 2, a longitudinal section through the portion at which the truck enters, showing details of the invention; Fig. 3, is averpractically up tical section on the line a-a, of Fig. 9;; Fig.

4 is a cross-section of the vestibule on the t5 partly in section, of one form ofmy feedi mechanism, and Fig. 6 shows a sectiom'ori the line :v.v, of Fig. 5, showing dctailsoilf the truck'moving mechanism. l

Referring to the drawings: 1 is the exterior of the f'urnaceclosed atone end by a vestibule 2 of my construction; 3 are rails for introducing into the vestibule 2 the transfer car 4 carrying rails 5, from which the car 6 bearing the load 7 is run into the furnace.

6 are the cars already in the furnace into which they have been pushed over the track 5, of which the rails 5 form a continuation lvhlen theloaded car is placed in the v sti u e. I

Projecting through the front wall 8 of the vestibule 2 is shown a means for pushing the truck 6 from the vestibule into the furnace. 9 is a rack to which a gradual uniform forward motion and a rapid return are imparted by the motor 10 acting on the, rack through pulleys carrying the belt 11. Other equivalent means may be employed. The larger pulley actuates the worm 12, the spur wheel 13, and the rack 9, through the pinion 14.

15, 15 is a reversing electric switch, between the points of which moves the contact lever 16, which is shifted atpredetermined intervals by the pin 17 on the rack 9.

17 is a pin for shifting .the switch lever 16 into the middle position on the outward run of the rack.

16 is a spring, showing one means of braking the outward movement of the rack.

18, 18 are the two vestibule side doors whose upper portion is shaped as a rack and adapted to be raised and lowered by the motor 20, or by handthrough'the intermerue diation of the worm and gearing 19. These doors when down dip into sand seals 21, which I have arranged on the transfer car 4, and thereby seal practically air and gas tight the doors 18, 18 of the vestibu1e2.

22 is the door leading from the vestibule into the furnace, which is raised and lowered by means of the rack 22, worm 23, gear 21: and motor 25, or otherwise.

Attached to the transfer car in the sides at right angles to the axle 26 are angle irons 27 dipping into sand boxes or troughs 28, located on the floor of the vestibule. These sand seals, in combination with the seals 21, located on the top of the transfer car, serve to seal the vestibule on all sides when the car is within the vestibule. The cars 6- and 6 are provided at their sides with downwardly projecting strips 29 which dip into the sand channels 30, and seal the car 6 from the pit 31.

At any desired point or points I may in troduce one or more thermostats, or pyrometers, as shown at b, Fig. 2. Here 0, if a thermostat is used, may be composed of two different metals having different degrees of expansion and contraction under change of temperature. This contact 0 stands either between the two points or on (Z or d, according to the heat. The thermostat is connected by the conductors w ;I with the rheostat R, and throws into the motor circuit, or throws out, resistance, thereby controlling the current supplied to the motor, and hence itsspced.

The operation of my device is as follows :-Assunie the furnace to be in full operation and ready to receive the loads under treatment. The door 18, or 18 (according to the side from which the transfer car is to be introduced) is raised. The switch lever 16 in normal condition rests midway between the two contacts 15,- .5, in the position shown by the dotted outline in Fig. 5. The current is turned on manually by placing the switch lever on the contacts 15. As soon as the transfer car, carrying the car 6 is introduced the doors 18, 18 are lowered into the sand seals 21. The door pin 17 on the rack 9 comes into contact with thelcvcr switch. 16 and throws it over onto the contacts 15 reversing the motor and returning the rack with a rapid motion to the original position.

end of the lever 16 throws it off the contacts 15 into the central position, thereby shutting off the current from the motor. The inertia of the switch will retain it,in the central position until it isagain to be thrown into contact with 15. The furnace door 22 is now lowered, the side door 18 or 18 raised, and the transfer car run out over the rails 3 to receive another load.

Automatic regulation of the OVQIfI QDlZ of the cars in the furnace is attained by making the movement of the cars dependent upon the heat desired in the furnace. A differential thermostat may be used for the purpose, such as is shown diagrammatically in Fig. 2. When the heat is normal, the contact 0 stands between the points at and d. Increase or decrease of heat causes 0 to make contact either with d or d, throw ing in or out resistance and increasing or decreasing the speed of the motor 10.

In connection with the regulation of the rapidity of the car movement, in any given case, it is apparent that after the operation is once started, the rate of supplying heat from fuel should be approximately const-ant, and the required fuel is determined by a preliminary testing and arriving at the rate of fuel consumption for any given material under treatment. For instance if one is briqueting residues of pyrite roasters, a maximum temperature of about 2600 degrees is required, and in this case, a larger feed of oil or combustible gas would be required than would be the case were one backing hollow ware brick, that need only a maximum temperature of 1800 degrees F.

It must be understood that this invention is to be used in conjunction with initiating or occasional adjustments of the fuel supply and drafts. By employing a pyrometer can adjust my fuel and air feed until the maximum temperature in the hottest part of the furnace is that desired, and I may then set my thermostat at some-point away and in a cooler part of the furnace, so that it stands at its neutral point. Then'variat-ion of the maximum temperature will opcrate the thermostat. Having thus fully described and illustrated my invention, what I claim, is

1. A furnace of the'channel type, comprising means for feeding cars carrying Ina-.-

terial to be treated into and through the mostatic device and coordinate the speed of the feeding mechanism with the desired temperature of the furnace.

. 3. The process of feeding material to be treated resting on carriers through a furnace, which consists in diiferentially moving said carriers at variable speeds, said variations in speed being controlled by the Variations in the temperature of the furnace.

4. The process of feeding materials to be treated resting on carriers through a furnace, which consists in differentially moving said carriers at variable speeds, said variations of speeds being controlled by the variations of temperature of the furnace and under conditions of fixed consumption of fuel to which the material shall be treated.

5. The process of feeding material to be treated resting on carriers through a furnace, which consists in difierentially moving said carriers at variable speeds, said Variations of speed being controlled by the variations of the temperature of the furnace, so as to effect a desired maximum temperature constant Within the limits of re ulation.

igned at Sewaren in the county of MiddleseX and State of New Jersey this sixth day of May A. D. 1911.

ALFRED H. COWLES.

Witnesses S. S. HECKMAN, A. SrrETsoN. 

